Setesdal (; older name: Sætersdal) is a valley and a traditional district in Agder County in southern Norway. It consists of the municipalities of Bykle, Valle, Bygland, Iveland, and Evje og Hornnes. The Otra river flows through the valley of Setesdal into the sea near Kristiansand. It flows southward from the Hardangervidda plateau in Telemark. The historic Setesdal starts at Evje and extends as far as the farm Bjåen, at the edge of the traditional region of Telemark. Øvre (Upper) Setesdal is in the municipality of Bykle. The municipalities of Iveland, Evje & Hornes and Bygland comprise the Nedre (Lower) Setesdal. Valle municipality is in the middle of the Setesdal valley. Norwegian National Road 9 runs through Setesdal.

Etymology

The oldest

Norse Norse is a demonym for Norsemen, a medieval North Germanic ethnolinguistic group ancestral to modern Scandinavians, defined as speakers of Old Norse from about the 9th to the 13th centuries. Norse may also refer to: Culture and religion * Nor ...

form of the name was just ''Setr'', and this was later replaced by ''Setrsdalr'' ('the dale/valley of Setr'). The common word ''setr'' has the meaning 'homestead, farm' – and ''Setr'' was probably originally the name of an old, large farm in the central part of Valle. The old farm was then later divided into a lot of smaller parts, but the name survived as the name of the district.

History

The ''

Historia Norwegiæ ''Historia Norwegiæ'' is a short history of Norway written in Latin by an anonymous monk. The only extant manuscript is in the private possession of the Earl of Dalhousie, and is now kept in the National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh. The manu ...

'', a short history of Norway written by a monk in the second half of the 12th century, reports that Setesdal was then part of the law district "''Telemark with Råbyggelag''". A ''Raabygger'' or ''Råbygger'' is one who lives in a corner; this is an apt description for the valley of Setesdal, which runs like a wedge into the heights of the mountain called Haukelifjell. Ascending the Otra valley from Evje, one reaches the lake Byglandsfjord. At this point one historically found one of the more pronounced cultural transitions in Norway; there was a radical change in racial characteristics, dress (folk costumes or Bunad), architecture, dialect, folk music, dance (e.g., the ganger, a form of Bygdedans), customs, and cuisine. Particularly obvious north of the mountain pass of Byklestigen, the people of upper Setesdal were observed to be more closely related in blood and speech to their eastern neighbours in Telemark, as well as their immediate neighbours in adjoining districts of

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 47 ...

to the west than to those people down the valley. Sigurd Fåvnesbane

Between Valle in Setesdal on the western side of the mountains and Fyresdal on the eastern side, one finds a medieval trail that priests and bishops used to get between the counties of Agder and Telemark. This trail is named "The Bishop's Road"(''Bispevegen'') and every year a march called "The Bishop's Road March" (''Bispevegmarsjen'') starts at Kleivgrend in Fyresdal. The Hylestad stave church, constructed in the 13th century in Setesdal, was demolished in the 17th century. Its portal, with several carved scenes illustrating the legend of Sigurd Fåvnesbane (Sigurd the Dragon-slayer), is on display at the

University Museum of National Antiquities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ro ...

in Oslo (''Universitetets Oldsaksamling, Historisk Museum, Oslo''). Sigurd's slaying of Fafnir is described in the '' Prose Edda'' of

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...

and the '' Völsungasaga'' as well as alluded to in ''

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The ...

'' and '' Njáls saga''. The Setesdal Line ( no, Setesdalsbanen) is a railroad between Kristiansand and Byglandsfjord in southern Norway. It was opened to Hægeland in 1895, and to Byglandsfjord in 1896. This railroad was closed down in 1962 but parts of it exist today as a hobby railroad and it is in regular tourist use during the summer months. The

SS Bjoren SS ''Bjoren'' is a wood-fuelled steamboat that travels the route between Bygland-Byglandsfjord, Bygland and Bygland- Ose on the lake Byglandsfjorden in the municipality of Bygland in the Setesdal valley. She runs on Sundays in July. Using wood ...

is an old steamboat that is in regular tourist use on a lake in the river Otra called Byglandsfjord.

References

Other sources

* ''South Norway'' by Frank Noel Stagg, George Allen & Unwin, Ltd., 1958. *

External links

Setesdal
www.visitnorway.com {{Authority control Districts of Agder Valleys of Agder

Etymology

History

See also

References

Other sources

External links